Militarism

Great Awakening

A sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. They believed that their faith and love needed strengthening. Puritanism had declined by the 1730s, and people were upset about the decline in religious piety. Protestant churches were forming.

Lexington/Concord

Impeachment

The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution. The House of Representatives may impeach the president by a majority vote for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Isolationism

Gettysburg

Large, decisive battle in the American Civil War, took place in July 1863. Union General Meade led an army to victory against General Lee's Confederate army. Abraham later gave one of the most famous speeches.

NAACP

John Wilkes Booth

April 1865, he shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. He escaped on a waiting horse and fled town then was found several days later in a barn in Virginia. He refused to come out so the barn was set on fire. He was later shot and killed

Checks and Balances

Manifest Destiny

This expression was popular in the 1840s. Many people believed that the U.S. was destined to secure territory from "sea to sea," from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This rationale drove the acquisition of territory.

Popular Sovereignty

The concept that political power rests with the people who express themselves through voting and free participation in government. People were allowed to vote on whether the state was a slave or free state.